Heating apparatus



May f4, 1935. HALL 2,001,531

HEATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 18 1932 Fig. I

zz Z6 20 Z :5 v/ {j Inventor":

Cheste-r I. Hull,

} b WM His Attorney.

Patented May 14, 1935 UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE HEATING APPARATUS Application February 18, 1932, Serial No. 593,785

2 Claims.

My invention relates to room air heating apparatus; more particularly to a heat storing and circulating device and control therefor for regulating the circulation of the heated room air 5 therefrom.

There has lately been developed a heating apparatus in which heat is stored at relatively high temperatures in some heat storage medium, by

electricity during off-peak hours, this heat being made available by the regulating means during all periods of the day and night. Some of these devices have been built as units and are provided with a radiator against which room air is blown and thereby heated. The fan or blower is thermostatically controlled by means of devices responsive to the temperature of the room air.

One diiiiculty of such an apparatus is that the room air which comes into contact with the heater or radiator leaves the heating apparatus at extremely high temperatures. This causes an unevenness in the heating of a room as the high temperature air quickly rises above the cooler air near the floor. Further, the relatively hot air leaving the heat unit makes it undesirable and quite uncomfortable for heating purposes since it is forced quickly into the room by the fan.

Hence it is the principal object of my invention to provide a room air heating unit in which the temperature of the air leaving the unit is maintained at a predetermined desired temperature adjacent the floor.

More specifically it is an object of my invention to provide a heat storage radiator unit of the above type in which the air heated to a high temperature by the radiator and cooler air are mixed to provide air of a predetermined temperature leaving the heating unit adjacent the floor.

Although my invention can be applied to other types of heaters, in the preferred embodiment of n my invention I provide a casing in which is mounted a heat storage tank which may be heated electrically or otherwise. Mounted on the top of this heat storage tank is a heater or radiator connected to the tank so that a circulation of the heating medium which may be water can pass through the radiator. A blower is provided for taking air at the floor level from the room to be heated and causing it to flow over and through the heater unit.

The casing is so constructed that the heater mounted on top of the heat storage tank is above an outlet from the casing and to one side of what may be termed a mixing chamber adjacent the outlet. An air duct having an intake opening at the floor level conducts air at the floor level room temperature past the heater to the mixing chambar.

The outlet from this air duct is closed by means of a. valve controlled by a thermostatic element placed within the mixing chamber. Air passing 5 through and over the heater coming into contact with the thermostatic element afiects the same to open the valve in the cold air duct there by permittingthe cold and hot air to mix to bring about a predetermined temperature of the air leaving the mixing chamber of the casing adjacent the floor.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a crosssection of my heating apparatus and Fig. 2 shows a top view thereof with a portion of the casing broken away to show the interior arrangement.

In Fig. 1 the enclosing casing Hi provided with the outlet louvres has mounted therein the heat storage tank It so as to form a vertical dividing wall therein with the radiator it at the top of the wall. The heat storage medium within this tank may be a liquid adapted to be heated to a relatively high temperature so as to obtain the maximum storage capacity. The heating medium within the heat storage tank may be heated 2.;

* by electricity during off-peak hours or by some other means. Connected to the heat storage tank and mounted on the top thereof is the heater or radiator l2 connected to the tank by means of the intake pipe is and outlet or return pipe it so that a thermosiphon circulation of the heat storage medium from the tank It to radiator l2 occurs as the heat is removed from the storage medium in the radiator.

A forced draft fan is is mounted in the mixing '35 chamber I! which extends downwardly from the radiator I! to the air outlet 28. This fan causes air at the floor level to be drawn through the grilled openings l6 and to flow upwardly through the space I! and over the heater I! to the mixing chamber l8 and then downwardly to the air outlet 20. This air after contacting with the radiator i2 is at a relatively high temperature.

Aninnerwall 2| formsapassage 22 intheback of the casing III which takes in air at the floor level temperature through the grilled opening 26,

A valve 23 controls the outlet opening from the passage 22 and is connected by means of link 24 to the thermostatic element 25 mounted in the mixing chamber. A sloping bailie member 21 at the bottom of the mixing chamber l8 prevents the air from being circulated within the casing and causes the air from the mixing chamber It to flow outward through the louvres II when the fan liisoperating. Thebailemember llisprovided with an orifice for the fan i5 and prevents undesirable circulation within the mixing chamher.

The thermostatic element 25 in response to the temperature of the air flowing through the radiator i2 expands and opens the valve Hto admit cold air into the mixing chamber E8. The position of the valve is determined by the temperature of the air from the radiator i2 and is moved to such a position that'the mixture of the cooler air from the air duct 22 and the hot air from the radiator l2 will form a mixture oi a predetermined temperature leaving the louvres 20, the

outlet supporting the louvres 20 being near thev floor upon which the heating apparatus is mounted. The louvres, as will be observed, are

the desired temperature with no portion of theroom hotter than the other and without the undesirable feature of extremely hot air leaving the heater unit.

Due to the inverted U shape of the passage for conducting air to the radiator from the floor and from the radiator to the outlet, and to the fact that the outlet from the heating means is near the floor, when thetian I5 is not operating an air lock is provided which prevents air from being circulated through the radiator by natural draft. This is due of course to the fact that cold air settles to the floor forcing warmer air to rise.

While I have described my invention in concrete form and as operating in a speciiic manner in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, it should be understood that I do not limit my invention thereto since various modifications thereof will suggest themselves to thow skilled in the art without departing from the spirit 015 my invention, the scope oil which is set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 01' the United States is:

' 1. A room air heating unit comprising an enclosing casing having its bottom near the floor and provided with spaced apart openings adjacent the bottom thereof for admitting and exhausting air, a high temperature heat storage means mounted within said casing to provide a vertical dividing wall between said openings, a radiator mounted at the top of said heat storage means and connected to be heated thereby, means including a fan for circulating air through one of said openings at one side of said wall over said radiator to be heated to a high temperature and exhausted through the other opening, a mixing chamber for receiving the air after passing over said radiator, an air duct in the casing for conducting air at room temperature through an opening at said one side of said wall to said mixing chamber, a valve controlling the admission of said room temperature air through said air duct to said mixing chamber, and a thermostatic element responsive to the temperature of the air in said mixing chamber for controlling said valve to provide an air mixture of a predetermined temperature in said mixing chamber.

2. A room air heating unit comprising. an enc osing casing having its bottom near the floor, a tank for containing a high temperature heat storage liquid mounted within said casing to form a vertical dividing wall therein, a radiator mounted on top of said tank and connected to be heated by thermo-siphon action of the heat storage liquid in said tank, air inlet means mounted adjacent the bottom of the casing at one side oi said tank, a fan mounted on the other side of said tank for drawing air through said radiator, an air duct for conducting air from said one side of said tank to the other side of said tank without contact with said radiator, a thermomic valve responsive to the temperature of the air on theother side of said tanktior controlling the flow of air through said air duct to provide a mixture of air on the other side of said tank oi. a predetermined temperature, and air outlet means mounted adjacent the bottom or the casing on the other side of said tank whereby when said fan is inoperative, circulation of air through said radiator is prevented.

CHESTER I. HALL. 

